February 27

And Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only You would bless me and enlarge my territory! May Your hand be with me and keep me from harm, so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted the request of Jabez. — 1 Chr 4:10 BSB

An “indeed” blessing is what the soul seeks when it has truly felt the misery of sin and tasted the sweetness of God’s salvation. These “indeed” blessings are spiritual and eternal. In contrast, the soul sees how vain and empty all earthly things are—mere toys, passing shadows, and dreams. It marvels at the folly of people chasing after these fleeting shows, wasting their lives in pursuits that lead only to misery and destruction. Every funeral bell, every sight of a coffin being carried to the grave, impresses upon the soul the solemn truth of the state of those who live and die in their sins.

In this way, the soul learns to contrast time with eternity, earth with heaven, sinners with saints, and professors with true possessors of faith. Like Baruch, it learns not to “seek great things” for itself but to seek real things—things that will outlast time and prepare it for eternity. It cares less and less for the opinions of men, desiring only the things that bear God’s approval: a tender conscience, a broken heart, a contrite spirit, a humble mind, separation from the world, submission to God’s will, meek endurance of the cross, and conformity to Christ’s suffering image.

As the Lord reveals Himself to the soul, shedding abroad a sense of His goodness, mercy, and dying love, the soul longs more and more for the manifestation of the blessings that are found only in Him. These blessings are not like the temporary mercies we enjoy in this life, which perish in the using. They are eternal and irrevocable. Once given, they can never be taken away. They are pledges and foretastes of eternal joys.

Just as Isaac could not take back the blessing he gave to Jacob, saying to Esau, “I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed,” so too, when the Lord blesses His people with spiritual blessings from His fullness, those blessings are unchangeable because they are rooted in the nature of God Himself—“the same yesterday, today, and forever.”